The Bemidji Symphony Orchestra presents “History Meets Music: An Afternoon with J. Robert Oppenheimer” featuring historical reenactor Clay Jenkinson as the person of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant yet deeply complex American physicist who has been called the “father of the atomic bomb.”  The concert, under the direction of Dr. Beverly Everett, features music closely connected to Oppenheimer and his times.

Included on Sunday’s program are Beethoven’s Prometheus Overture, the Stravinsky Octet, Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, and Elgar’s Nimrod from the Enigma Variations. Guest tenor Brad Bradshaw will be featured in Britten’s “Holy Sonnets of John Donne” and on songs from the 1964 movie classic “Dr. Strangelove,” including “We’ll Meet Again.” Pianist is Matt Sieberg.

Jenkinson and Dr. Everett will do a post-concert talk immediately after the performance and take questions from the audience.

The performance is Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 3:00 PM at the Bemidji High School Auditorium; doors open for seating at 2:30 PM. Advance tickets are available at Lueken’s North, Brigid’s Cross, and at the door, and online at brownpapertickets.com.  Prices are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens 62+, and $10 for college students with ID.  Students grades K through 12 are admitted free. 

In preparation for Sunday's concert, Jenkinson will give a free lecture on J. Robert Oppenheimer on Saturday evening, February 11th at 7:00 PM at the Thompson Recital Hall in the Bangsberg Building on the Bemidji State University campus.

Jenkinson will be signing books at Book World in downtown Bemidji on Saturday, February 11th at 2:00 PM where his latest books on Meriwether Lewis and Theodore Roosevelt will be available.

Clay Jenkinson

Clay Jenkinson, a leading U.S. humanities scholar and lecturer, is widely praised for his first-person interpretations of historical characters such as Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Meriwether Lewis. He lectures widely on history and the humanities using a style that is both enlightening and intentionally thought-provoking, but not without wit and humor.

In addition to appearing onstage as J. Robert Oppenheimer with the BSO on Sunday afternoon, Jenkinson will give a free lecture on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 7:00 PM at the Thompson Recital Hall on the Bemidji State University campus. Jenkinson will explore the deeply complex mind and soul of this brilliant American physicist who has been called the “father of the atomic bomb.”

Jenkinson is the recipient of a Charles Frankel Prize from the National Endowment for the Humanities; is host of the nationally syndicated radio program The Thomas Jefferson Hour; and is the author of such books as Becoming Jefferson’s People: Re-Inventing the American Republic in the Twenty-First Century and Theodore Roosevelt in the Dakota Badlands. He is the director of the Dakota Institute in Washburn, ND; president of Dakota Sky Education; founder and chief consultant for the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University; and is the Bismarck State College Distinguished Scholar of the Humanities. He has appeared on The Today Show, Politically Incorrect, CNN, and The Colbert Report. He lives and writes in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Brad Bradshaw

Brad Bradshaw, tenor, completed his doctor of music degree at the University of Minnesota. His most outstanding performances include tenor roles in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte, Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and the lead role of Albert in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring. Bradshaw premiered to great acclaim the role of “the Boy” in Libby Larsen’s new opera Every Man Jack that received its world premiere by the Sonoma City Opera Company in California.

In addition to an extensive art song recital and performing schedule, Dr. Bradshaw has collaborated with the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra and can be heard performing for the renowned Lyra Ensemble, Thursday Musical Society, the Rochester Aria Group, Voices of Vienna, and the Schubert Club. Pursuing his passion for oratorio and chamber music, he has appeared frequently with the Minnesota Bach Society and the St. John’s Oratorio Chorus and Orchestra. Dr. Bradshaw is now the musical specialist at the Friends School of Minnesota and also teaches at the House of Hope Presbyterian Choir School.